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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey explains why Alex Jones and Infowars can still tweet

Dorsey's reasoning is relatively simple: Jones and Infowars haven't broken Twitter's rules.

Mark Serrels Editorial Director
Mark Serrels is an award-winning Senior Editorial Director focused on all things culture. He covers TV, movies, anime, video games and whatever weird things are happening on the internet. He especially likes to write about the hardships of being a parent in the age of memes, Minecraft and Fortnite. Definitely don't follow him on Twitter.
Mark Serrels
2 min read
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After a long period of public pressure, multiple platforms and outlets such as YouTube and Spotify, have removed Infowars and Alex Jones content from their respective platforms.

Jones called it an "ideological purge intended to re-define the very concept of free speech."

Twitter hasn't removed Alex Jones or Infowars, resulting in a large amount of criticism. Jack Dorsey explained on Tuesday why both remain on the platform.

"We didn't suspend Alex Jones or Infowars yesterday," said Jack Dorsey on Twitter. "We know that's hard for many but the reason is simple: he hasn't violated our rules. We'll enforce if he does. And we'll continue to promote a healthy conversational environment by ensuring tweets aren't artificially amplified."

He then went into more detail with subsequent tweets.
"Truth is we've been terrible at explaining our decisions in the past. We're fixing that. We're going to hold Jones to the same standard we hold to every account, not taking one-off actions to make us feel good in the short term, and adding fuel to new conspiracy theories.

"If we succumb and simply react to outside pressure, rather than straightforward principles we enforce (and evolve) impartially regardless of political viewpoints, we become a service that's constructed by our personal views that can swing in any direction. That's not us.

"Accounts like Jones' can often sensationalize issues and spread unsubstantiated rumors, so it's critical journalists document, validate, and refute such information directly so people can form their own opinions. This is what serves the public conversation best."

Watch this: Why Alex Jones and Infowars were kicked off YouTube, Facebook, Apple and Spotify

Criticisms have centred around Alex Jones' conspiracy theories. He has been called out for promoting untrue, virulent hypotheses about tragic events, like the Sandy Hook school shooting, which he claims is "completely fake".

In an earlier email to CNET, Twitter maintained Alex Jones and Infowars wasn't in violation of Twitter or Periscope's rules, but those rules are constantly under review. If content is posted that violates those rules, it is expected that Twitter will take action.

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